New Rules On Anti-Fraud Measures For In-Home Care Program Anticipated

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Aired 8/30/10

The elderly and disabled in the state's in-home care program are awaiting new rules -- to be unveiled next month -- on how counties should check for fraud. The new anti-fraud measures have sparked fear among some receiving the care.

SAN DIEGO  The elderly and disabled in the state's in-home care program are awaiting new rules -- to be unveiled next month -- on how counties should check for fraud. The new anti-fraud measures have sparked fear among some receiving the care.

San Diego County is one of several that started the anti-fraud measures before the state could draft new rules on how they should be carried out. The county has conducted at least 55 unannounced visits to people in the In Home Supportive Services Program (IHSS).

Steve Mehlman is with the UDW Homecare Providers union that represents IHSS workers. He says some seniors elsewhere in the state have been traumatized by the visits.

"They are approached by people in bulletproof vests in some cases demanding to come into their homes," Mehlman said. "In one particular case, an 85-year-old Assyrian woman is told that they are demanding to look in her underwear drawer in her dresser."

San Diego County officials have said they would conduct the unannounced visits without intimidation.